Towns Joins Elite NBA Company
Photo: Michael Henriquez – NY Beacon
Madison Square Garden
By Shara Talia Taylor
Yubusele Contributes Off The Bench
Photo: Michael Henriquez – NY Beacon
Madison Square Garden
The New York Knicks had a turnaround performance winning 119-104 over the Charlotte Hornets back at home, following a roadtrip loss to the Boston Celtics the night before.
It was the team’s 11th win this season at MSG, on a fundraising night for The Garden of Dreams Foundation, a non-profit charity that works with MSG. Karl-Anthony Towns helped gift Knicks fans a victory with a double-double:35 points,18 total rebounds and five assists.
“You got one of the best players in the NBA like JB (Jalen Brunson),” Towns said. “The gravity he attracts allows us to have a chance to do something special. So, yeah, just taking the opportunities the defense was giving me, doing that, just being aggressive and playmaking, whether it was scoring or passing to my teammates.”
Ahead of the game Charlotte Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee said the biggest difference he has seen between last years Knick’s team and this years team is ball movement.
“It does seem like in transition there’s a little bit more of a willingness to want to pass ahead and pass across play a little bit faster,” Coach Lee said.
According to the NBA, Towns joined Walt Bellamy, Bob McAdoo, and Willis Reed, as the only Knicks with “multiple 35+ points, 15+ rebounds, 5+ assists games”. Brunson contributed 26 points, five assists, three steals, and two rebounds in the game.
New York was ahead 27-12 at the end of the first quarter, 53-47 at halftime, and 90-75 at the end of the third quarter. However, New York began to lose their lead in the second quarter.
“It’s a game of runs,” said Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown. “Eventually your opponent’s going to make a run. So the times that we have stretched it and held onto it, that’s unusual for the NBA.”
Starters Towns, Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Deuce McBride, and Josh Hart played less time in the second quarter. Other players from the bench played. Jordan Clarkson had a steal, Guerschon Yabusele had a blocked shot and Tyler Kolek had a block shot and six points. The starters played more time in the third quarter. The Knicks were outscored 35-26 in the second quarter, but outplayed the Hornets 37-28 in the third quarter.
“I’m not necessarily afraid to start a rookie at times if I feel the matchup is right or whatever because I don’t think you’ll ever win or lose a game at the start,” said Brown.
Children joined Brown’s pregame press conference in honor of the fundraising night. They had the opportunity to ask him questions and then went to the interview seat to receive questions from him. The Garden of Dreams Foundation in partnership with MSG companies, aims to change the lives of young people by networking, mentoring and educational opportunities through communitybuilding.
The Knicks, now 14-7 and in third place in the Eastern Conference, return to MSG on Friday to take on the Utah Jazz.
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